Airborne communications systems have been developed to enable communications between communication devices in remote locations not having a communication infrastructure. For example, in a search and rescue situation an airborne communication hub can be used to provide a communication link between communication subscriber nodes, such as search rescue radios, that are spread out over great distances and varying terrain. Another example is the use of an airborne communication hub in a battlefield environment where a communication link is needed between communication subscriber nodes that can also be located at great distances between each other and in varying terrain.
In implementing airborne communication systems, a flight path/orbit is manually generated for a flight path planning system of an aerial vehicle that houses the airborne communication hub. The flight plan includes waypoints for the aerial vehicle to pass through to position the communication hub in desired locations to enable communication links between the communication hub and communication subscriber nodes.
In creating a flight path/orbit for the aerial vehicle, a mission planner combines his experience with information that includes the location of communication subscriber nodes, knowledge of the aerial platform and the type of terrain. This approach, however, is fraught with difficulty. As the number of communication subscriber nodes, their respective mission priorities and communication requirements increase, the planner is presented with a combinatorial explosion of interacting variables that need to be considered in creating the flight path/orbit. Indeed, this problem is akin to one of the classic problems of computer science, the “traveling salesman” problem in which a path of travel between multiple cities which minimizes distance traveled is the goal. In general, only approximate solutions for this problem can be found, and then only by using sophisticated non-deterministic algorithms. Moreover, if we begin to consider other variables such as radio capabilities, weather effects, and other complicating factors it becomes clear the kind of multi-disciplinary expertise required of the mission planner is unobtainable. Furthermore, when the mission planner does enter a set of waypoints it is hard to measure or predict the effectiveness of the path/orbit and precisely when subscribers can actually expect to have connectivity.